The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) has cracked its whip over the poor management of the Para Athletic Championship––held recently in Ghaziabad––proceeding to sack its president Rajesh Tomar.
The decision was taken by PCI’s executive committee, which met in Bengaluru on April 4.
The three-day national championship has sparked a massive row over the lack of basic facilities––including drinking water and food––at the hostels for the athletes.
PCI’s national executive also decided to initiate criminal and civil proceedings against Tomar and revoked the suspension of five members ordered by him for bungling the games held from March 22 to 24.
Tomar had suspended these members on March 27, five days after the conclusion of the games in Ghaziabad, allegedly on charges of misappropriating committee funds. PCI members, however, termed the suspension order unilateral as none of the executive committee members had been consulted about it.
The members also opined, during the course of the meeting, that Rajesh Tomar was guilty of gross negligence of duty, as he’d failed to inspect the venue of the event––even after the Secretary General and Executive officer had visited it and reported about irregularities found––says a media release on the PCI website.
Pertinently, internal correspondence of the PCI accessed by The News Minute suggests that a lack of coordination between various members may have contributed to the mismanagement.
In a series of emails exchanged between members of the PCI and Tomar, several executive committee members have accused the latter of committing financial irregularities. However, Tomar has denied the allegations.
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